Well, much sympathy with you. My take on it, assuming you are also collectors in the
United States:
-- "inflation" has nothing to do with it. The inflation rate of 6.2% in the U.S. (this morning) is based on industrial and retail transactions compared to which coin collecting has no market impact whatsoever. The entire numismatic market is a drip in a drop in the bucket of industrial bucket-making. I bought a dishwasher this year that was a "
Choice Extremely Fine"
denarius. But, even so, the "hammer
price" movement has far exceeded the US inflation rate.
-- coin
auction prices have certainly moved with aspects of supply and demand, along with discretionary spending due to many other factors that
reduced collateral expenditures for collectors, especially collectors whose life-expenditures have stabilized ("old timers").
-- Why? because, in
part at least, many collectors have
had to shift entirely to online purchasing. Most "
face to
face" trading in 2020-2021 was not possible. Some
face to
face collectors
had been used to travelling and socialising at
coin shows, as did the dealers, adding 10-20-even 50% to their cost of goods sold/acquired. (I certainly did. I often spend a "nice coin" on transit, food and ... booze when I am at a show, and I only travel day trips on the U.S. East Coast). Most retailers have resisted conforming their pricing to accommodate lower-cost items, because the actual inflation rate/interest rate, is practically
still very low, so they can carry inventory in hopes of moving coins in various fora (no judgment in that; markets are markets, and some may disagree).
-- so, some collectors added their travel savings to their
budget and bid-up online items
-- also, some sellers over-hyped the items they were
selling, taking advantage of the lack of in-person comparison of items and new collectors who have no comparison basis (a return to the pre-internet days);
-- some buyers
had to adapt to changes due to exchange rates,
auction premiums, shipping, sales tax, and other expenses that were previously melded with
face to
face show sales. Shipping, in particular, along with "Brexit" and other ill-timed big picture financial strategies,
had an impact on
numismatics; so, too, did
auction premiums, which should have dropped in traditional economic terms, but did not.
-- finally, due to the pandemic, there seems to be a great deal of "YOLO"
buying.
Stay healthy and safe in the New Year, coin friends!